Harrier Jump Jet
By Gene C. Davis (29 April 2001)
ver
wonder what it would be like to fly the USMC Harrier jump jet? This program
adds to Combat Flight Simulator 2 a brief glimpse into that world. As
we all know add-ons are generally pretty limited as far as reality
goes, especially with Combat Flight Simulator 2. CFS2 was made to
incorporate WW2 style combat and is pretty limited when trying to use
modern day aircraft and weapons. This program is still worth looking
at and is fun just trying to fly these aircraft.The package includes support for CFS2, FS2000 and CFS and is very easy to install. Eighteen versions of the Harrier are available, along with two versions of the A4 Skyhawk, the Mirage Fighter and the FMA IA 58 Pucara. Each plane includes its own panel, I have noticed at least three variants to the Harrier jet. The manual is pretty basic with 34 pages in English and 34 pages in German and includes very little flight information. The add-on includes scenery for the Falklands area with lots of ships to make low flying passes at. The software also sports distinct sound for each and every plane; this is where the add-on really shines! The sound is utterly excellent and depicts the aircraft's movements well, especially in VTOL flight.
Missions are pretty scripted and limited due to the restrictions of CFS2. I flew a mission called La Muerta Negra Is Coming. This mission started you in the air and the objective is to intercept two inbound bandits heading for your carrier group at dusk.
Mission Transcript: La Muerta Negra Is Coming
Mission Time: 15-20 minutes
I was at a cruising altitude of 3500 feet, and the sun was dropping below the horizon when the first of the two bogeys showed up on my radar. They were at a cruising altitude of about 2500, the only reason I knew is because I dropped to their altitude for the purpose of identification. Once I was able to visually identify them as Mirage fighters, they became bandits. I fell in behind the first of the two fighters, while the other circled around on me, I brought up my Air/ Air weapons, Aim 9 Sidewinders, and geared up for a good firing arc. (Knowing that these missiles were dumb fire due to the limitations of CFS2, I tried to set up the shot.) Fox 1, the missile shot out ahead of the bandit. After a few lengthy comments directed towards program makers I fired again, this one fell short of the aircraft. I immediately switched to guns and banked in towards the
enemy plane, but to my surprise the second bandit opened fire. Bullets whizzed past my right wing, when out of nowhere my wingman, with whom I had no idea existed until now, opened fire on the second bandit. (I was able to watch this from my six and I found it to be rather impressive as the bullets lit up the night sky behind me; however it was a miss.) The bandit I was after pulled hard to the right, which brought him back around into my firing arc. Firing my cannons the enemy plane exploded into a ball of flames. My attention was then centered on the other bandit who had broken away from my wingman--no big surprise there! He was headed for the carrier group! Rounds of ammunition from the anti-aircraft guns shot toward the night sky at the single enemy plane, and then there was a distinct BOOM and the small aircraft disappeared into the dark ocean below. Upon arriving back at the carrier, I went for a VTOL landing. With gear down and the thrust vectoring adjusted on my approach to slow me down the carrier deck grew larger and larger. Upon touchdown the plane bounced uncontrollably and slid off the deck into the ocean. No real fanfare there! (CFS2 just doesn't cooperate with the VTOL jets).
FS2K vs. CFS2
Upon my initial review of the add-on I was surprised to see that it included support for FS2000 and didn't really think that there would be much of a difference. To be honest all I really wanted to do was to make a successful VTOL takeoff and landing, but this was almost impossible in CFS2. However in FS2000 I was able to make an almost perfect takeoff and a near perfect landing at the Yakima Firing Center in Yakima, WA. This automatically gave me new insight into this program. Of course there are no weapons available, but the flight models are a dream and I gladly traded CFS2's combat missions for FS2000 to further test this add-on. I found the aircraft to have a lot more depth and detail than that of CFS2. The cockpits were also much more functional. All and all I found the FS2000 version to be more enjoyable.The navigation systems function well in both programs and the book includes all the necessary NDB's to find your way around. I also found that the air-ground missions do make up for the lack of targeting systems in the missiles. The free fall bombs do work however, and yes there is a however. There is no heads up display, so there is no targeting system available. I usually just go to the full screen without the cockpit and judge my bomb drop manually.
As for the cockpit lighting and the lack of runway lights in CFS2, this is made up for in FS2000. The runways are lit and the aircraft are lighted internally.
The added scenery is also disappointing in CFS2; it's all flat. Included in both sceneries though are the static cruise ships, naval cruisers and civilian craft that are kind of fun to do low level passes over. In FS2000 the scenery already exists and has some elevation to it, so that really adds to the flight experience. I am looking forward to doing some canyon flying with the Harrier and FS2000. I did fly from Yakima, Washington through the Yakima Canyon and was able to land vertically on the canyon road with little or no drifting.
Wish List
As I sat and looked over this program my mind worked over a wish list that I would like to see in an update.
